May muses 15: House arrest- EF
Day 15 of May Muses! Can you believe we're just about halfway through?! My idea for today: What if the Charming family were under house arrest in the Enchanted Forest?
Charming's head snapped up as the door to the master bedroom was opened. The two guards standing in front of it moved aside and let the guard with Snow into the room.
"Thank goodness you're back." Charming said, breathing a sigh of relief. As soon as the guard released Snow from her chains, he pulled her over, checking that there were no injuries. He pressed his lips against hers, grateful she was ok.
"I'm fine." She said, not wanting to scare any of their children. She smiled over at the five. Christopher, Michael and Rosie were all sitting on the bed. Neal was pacing up and down by the window and Emma was fidgeting by the bedpost. "They just asked me questions, like they did with you." Snow promised him.
"What did they-"
"That is none of your concern." One of the guards hissed at Charming. He looked menacingly at the guard, but did not retaliate. Like Snow, he didn't want the children scared more than they had to be. They had no way of seeing this attack coming. Misthaven had never even heard of a famously gruesome Hun named Shan Yu. He and his army had stormed the palace and the surrounding village. He was holding the royal family captive. He had thus far questioned Snow and Charming on any alliances they had that may hear of the attack and all the routes out of the palace. He had questioned them both individually to check neither lied or missed out any details. The guard that brought Snow back said something in a foreign tongue to the guard that seemed to be in charge of the royal family. He turned back to face them.
"Shan Yu will now speak with your eldest." Emma's eyes widened. She moved forward. She would be brave for her younger siblings.
"Why does your leader wish to speak with me?" She asked.
"That does not matter." The guard spat. Snow caught hold of Emma's wrist and pulled her behind both of them. The guards continued to approach her.
"We've told you everything you wanted to know." Snow warned them. "Our children are to be left alone." The guard smirked.
"This is not a negotiation." He told Snow. "Shan Yu has different questions for your daughter. Rumours of her powers have spread far beyond your kingdom." He told them. Neal suddenly lunged forward, punching one of the guards.
"Leave my sister alone!" He growled. The guard Neal had punched growled at him. As he went to charge forward, Charming got between the two.
"What do you expect my son to do? You're threatening his sister." Charming barked.
"The girl will not be hurt. Not unless this behaviour continues." Snow tried her best, but they surrounded her. Emma was put in shackles and dragged away.
"Emma!" She called out. She tried to run after her, but she was stopped. As were Charming and Neal. The three little ones all started to cry.
"Where have they taken Emma?" Rosie wailed.
"She'll be back." Charming said, picking her up. He tried his best to comfort her, but how could he do it properly under the circumstances? "Are they gonna take all of us?" She whimpered. Charming kissed the side of her head.
"I don't think so, baby." He told her. Emma was the only one out the five to have full on magic. Her powers were legend throughout the kingdom, even though she rarely used them. Apparently, word had spread.
Waiting for Emma to return was torture for the family. Nobody knew what they were asking her…or doing to her. Snow and Charming were doing their best to remain calm in front of the other children, but it was nearly impossible with Emma missing. They didn't have any way of knowing what was happening? Was she ok? Was she scared? Were they hurting her? Only about an hour later did they get their answers.
The door opened. There came Emma, still in shackles. The family all cried out in relief. They rushed forward to check she was ok.
"Wait until she is released." The guard hissed. Snow and Charming backed their children up. They didn't want to have to wait, but angering the guards wouldn't help the situation. As soon as Emma was freed, her parents' arms were around her.
"Did they hurt you?" Snow breathed against her ear, worried the guards would prevent her asking even that. Emma shook her head, but her parents could still feel her shaking. Something had happened down there.
"Are you ok, Emma?" Michael asked, looking up at his big sister. Emma bent down and hugged the nine-year-old tightly.
"I'm fine." She promised him, before looking up at her other siblings. "I'm ok, really." But Charming noticed something whilst Emma was bent down. She had a necklace on. She hadn't been wearing a necklace when she left.
"What's that Emma?" Charming asked, gesturing to it. Emma pulled the collar of her dress up slightly.
"Oh, nothing." She lied. Her parents didn't believe her. Shang Yu had obviously given it to Emma.
"We're taking that off, now." Snow said. She didn't want her daughter being given jewellery from their captor.
"Mom, please don't-" But Emma was too late. Snow's hands went around the clasp to remove the necklace, but as soon she tried, a small jolt of electricity went through both Snow and Emma.
"What was that?" Charming asked, checking they were both ok.
"It's attached to my magic." Emma explained. "It can't be removed. It stops me from using it. It's from his kingdom. If I try…" Emma winced. "Bad things happen." Snow and Charming were beyond furious that this device had been put on their daughter. She was not some sort of animal. But Charming's fury didn't stop there. When Snow's hands moved away, she moved Emma's dress slightly. There were slight smudges of blood at her shoulder blades. On closer inspection, he could see they were marks from fingernails digging into Emma's shoulders. They had forced her down and put this necklace on. He quietly notified Snow so that she saw as well. He saw the danger flash in her eyes. She fixed Emma's dress and turned to face the guards.
"I wish to be taken down to your leader." She instructed. "We were promised no harm if we cooperated. We have done nothing but cooperate, and you have harmed our daughter." The guard seemed amused by Snow's request.
"Something funny about that?" Charming snarled.
"Yes. It is funny that you think you are in a position to be making demands." Charming was about to retort when he felt Emma's hand slip into his.
"It's fine." She said calmly. "He's not worth it. We'll get out of here, daddy. Just stay calm." Charming felt the farthest thing from calm. They had hurt his little girl, they were holding his entire family captive. It wasn't right. But now was not the time to fight. He wrapped a protective arm around Emma, kissing the side of her head.
"Go sit with your siblings." He said gently. Emma did as her dad asked. Snow and Charming looked at each other, making a silent agreement. That would be the last time these people would hurt their children.
